The first high school football weekend of the season has arrived.
Dozens of teams from across the Bay Area are about to kick off the year with games scheduled for Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
The Week 1 lineup features De La Salle — the Bay Area News Group’s top-ranked team — playing host to Florida powerhouse Lakeland on Friday and second-ranked Archbishop Riordan opening at home in San Francisco against Oakland heavyweight McClymonds, ranked 10th.
In another top-10 matchup, No. 9 Wilcox will travel to the south side of San Jose to play eighth-ranked Valley Christian in a traditional season opener.
No. 7 Serra might have the most daunting challenge of the weekend, trying to slow down five-star quarterback Ryder Lyons and his Folsom Bulldogs.
- Preseason coverage: League previews, all-area lists, more
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Here are this week’s top matchups:
Friday, Aug. 29
Lakeland, Florida (1-0) at No 1 De La Salle, 7:30 p.m.: The Spartans, coming off an undefeated regular season in 2024, will open the year against a powerhouse from Florida. The Dreadnaughts already have a win under their belt, beating fellow Florida school Auburndale last week. Lakeland is led by Sacramento State commit Jadarius Dobie and three-star, Arkansas-bound quarterback Joaquin Kavouklis. De La Salle will match Lakeland with a speedy offense led by wide receivers Jaden Jefferson and Emery Speight as well as running back Duece Jones-Drew. HSRatings.com has De La Salle winning 35-13. — Nathan Canilao
Soquel at No. 5 Los Gatos, 7 p.m.: This rematch of Los Gatos’ season opener from the past two years will be Callum Schweitzer’s first game as the Wildcats’ undisputed starting quarterback. The Cats are 2-0 in their last two matchups against Soquel. But last season was close, with Los Gatos winning 14-7 on the road. HSRatings.com projects a 31-10 Cats win on Friday. — Christian Babcock
No. 9 Wilcox at No. 8 Valley Christian, 7 p.m.: This is the ninth consecutive fall season that these South Bay powerhouses have played, with Valley winning six of the previous eight, including 24-7 last season at Wilcox. Rome Leota-Pritchard, who started at quarterback as a freshman last season, returns to lead the Valley offense under longtime coach Mike Machado. Wilcox, as always, gets it done behind its high-powered veer option offense. QB Kai Imahara returns to lead the attack under veteran coach Paul Rosa. HSRatings.com projects a tight one, with Valley prevailing 19-17. – Darren Sabedra
Archbishop Mitty at No. 16 Acalanes, 7 p.m.: Acalanes made news in the off-season, parting ways with longtime coach Floyd Burnsed and replacing him with Joel Isaac, an assistant on Burnsed’s staff. Isaac takes over a program that won a state championship in 2023 and nearly made a state final last year. QB Tyler Winkles leads the way for Acalanes. He passed for 2,639 yards and 35 touchdowns as a sophomore last year. Lazaro Faraj-Washington was a 1,000-yard rusher for Mitty in 2024. HSRatings.com’s computer projects this game to be a thriller, with Acalanes winning 28-27. – Darren Sabedra
Saturday, Aug. 30
No. 10 McClymonds at No. 2 Archbishop Riordan, 1:30 p.m.: Riordan’s high-powered offense will be put to the test when the Crusaders welcome an always tough McClymonds squad on Saturday. Vanderbilt-bound quarterback Michael Mitchell Jr. will have plenty of options to throw to as Riordan’s wide receiving core of Cynai Thomas, Judge Nash and Perrion Williams will all command attention. McClymonds will try to match Riordan on defense with Washington committed cornerback Rahsjon Duncan and 320-pound defensive lineman Koi Taiese. Riordan got the better of McClymonds in Oakland last season, narrowly winning 35-34. HSRatings.com predicts an easy Riordan victory on Saturday, 48-14. – Nathan Canilao
Folsom (1-0) at No. 7 Serra, 2 p.m.: Can Serra play a competitive game against Sacramento area powerhouse Folsom? The Padres did better than that last season, knocking off the Bulldogs 22-21 on the road despite breaking in 18 new starters. Serra will nearly have to replicate that Saturday after losing 11 offensive players from last year’s team. Folsom got off to a strong start in Week 1 of its season, routing heavyweight Grant-Sacramento 51-13 on the road behind five-star quarterback Ryder Lyons, a BYU commit. HSRatings.com projects that Folsom will beat Serra 40-0, giving the visitors a greater than 99% chance to win. Serra is 3-0 against Folsom since 2022, winning by a combined 13 points. — Christian Babcock
Schedule
Thursday, Aug. 28
Chugiak at Encinal, 7 p.m.
Harbor at Del Mar, 6:30 p.m.
Independence at Cupertino, 7:15 p.m.
Monta Vista at Andrew Hill, 7 p.m.
Monterey at Christopher, 7:15 p.m.
Oak Grove at Milpitas, 7 p.m.
Pioneer Valley at Gilroy, 7:15 p.m.
San Lorenzo Valley at South San Francisco, 7 p.m.
Santa Teresa at Fremont-Sunnyvale, 7 p.m.
Friday, Aug. 29
Alameda at De Anza, 7 p.m.
Amador Valley at Vanden, 7:30 p.m.
Aragon at Pioneer, 7:15 p.m.
Archbishop Mitty at Acalanes, 7 p.m.
Archie Williams at Tennyson, 7 p.m.
Benicia at Rodriguez, 7 p.m.
Berkeley at Dublin, 7 p.m.
Bethel at Las Lomas, 7 p.m.
Bishop O’Dowd at Armijo, 7 p.m.
Branham at Hollister, 7:30 p.m.
California at Patterson, 7 p.m.
Campolindo at Granada, 7:15 p.m.
Castro Valley at Livermore, 7 p.m.
Cathedral Catholic at St. Francis, 7 p.m.
Clayton Valley Charter at Spanish Springs, 6 p.m.
Concord at Newark Memorial, 7 p.m.
Dougherty Valley at College Park, 7 p.m.
East Union at Freedom, 7 p.m.
El Cerrito at San Ramon Valley, 7 p.m.
Esparto at Lower Lake, 7 p.m.
Foothill at Monte Vista, 7 p.m.
Granite Bay at Pittsburg, 7 p.m.
Half Moon Bay at Burlingame, 7 p.m.
Hercules at Alhambra, 7 p.m.
Heritage at James Logan, 7 p.m.
Hillsdale at Live Oak, 7:15 p.m.
Irvington at Gunderson, 7 p.m.
Jefferson at Terra Nova, 7 p.m.
American at James Lick, 7:30 p.m.
Kennedy-Richmond at San Lorenzo, 4 p.m.
Lakeland, Florida at De La Salle, 7 p.m.
Leigh at Leland, 7:15 p.m.
Liberty at Frontier, 7:30 p.m.
Lincoln-San Francisco at Carlmont, 7 p.m.
Los Altos at San Mateo, 7 p.m.
Lynbrook at Mt. Pleasant, 7:15 p.m.
MacDonald at Santa Clara, 7 p.m.
Menlo-Atherton at Destiny Christian Academy, 7:15 p.m.
Mills at San Jose, 7 p.m.
Miramonte at Oakland Tech, 7 p.m.
Moreau Catholic at Hayward, 7 p.m.
Mountain View at Palo Alto, 7 p.m.
Mt. Eden at Kennedy-Fremont, 7 p.m.
Piedmont Hills at Monte Vista Christian, 7:30 p.m.
Pinole Valley at Skyline, 7 p.m.
Redwood at San Leandro, 7 p.m.
Richmond at Riverbank, 7 p.m.
San Marin at St. Ignatius, 7 p.m.
San Rafael at Antioch, 7 p.m.
Sequoia at Capuchino, 7 p.m.
Sobrato at Bellarmine, 7 p.m.
Soquel at Los Gatos, 7 p.m.
St. Patrick-St. Vincent at Napa, 7 p.m.
Terra Linda at Mt. Diablo, 7:30 p.m.
Vallejo at Highlands, 7 p.m.
Vintage at Casa Grande, 7 p.m.
Washington-Fremont at Weston Ranch, 7 p.m.
Wilcox at Valley Christian, 7 p.m.
Willow Glen at Lincoln-San Jose, 7:15 p.m.
Woodside at Westmont, 7 p.m.
Ygnacio Valley at Redwood Christian, 5 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 30
Albany at Lowell, 1 p.m.
El Camino at Balboa, 2 p.m.
Folsom at Serra, 2 p.m.
Hozho Academy at Menlo School, 2 p.m.
McClymonds at Archbishop Riordan, 1:30 p.m.
Middletown at Berean Christian, 12:30 p.m.
Northgate at Tamalpais, 2 p.m.
Pajaro Valley at Gunn, 2 p.m.
Piedmont at Salesian, 1 p.m.
Prospect at Saratoga, 7 p.m.
Sacred Heart Cathedral at Sacred Heart Prep, 2 p.m.